Corona’s withdrawal of 3 bank accounts a sign of guilt, say prosecutors

MANILA, Philippines—The withdrawal of more than P30 million from three Philippine Savings Bank (PSBank) time deposit accounts under Chief Justice Renato Corona’s name showed his guilt, spokespersons of the prosecution panel said on Thursday.

“Flight is always an evidence of guilt,” Marikina Representative Romero Quimbo said of the bank accounts all terminated on December 12, 2011, the date Corona was impeached.

Aurora Representative Juan Edgardo Angara said withdrawal of the amounts inside the accounts could have meant “many things (like) preparing for the impeachment” which Quimbo termed “paglilimas. Withdrawing P35 million raises a lot of questions.”

Angara said that as the chief magistrate’s wife Cristina Corona had been an official of Camp John Hay, she should have filed a statement of assets, liabilities, and net worth, and since she had not, they assumed her husband’s was a joint SALN.

He further explained that assets of his wife and children should have been declared, including the P34 million worth check purportedly owned by Basa Guidote.

Another spokesman, Quezon Representative Lorenzo Tanada III asked why, if the check had been “in trust for the company”, was it not transferred from the chief justice’s account after some time.

Quimbo said that they were excited to learn of the reasons for the termination of the accounts, saying that the respondent had tried “to cover this up with as many stories as they can.”

Tanada supported Quimbo’s assumption that Corona’s flight was a sign of guilt and added “the impeachment was already there, he had to move.”